Existentialism in Camus and Kafka Essay

Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Albert Camus’ The Outsider, both feature protagonists in situations out of which arise existentialist values. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts. In The Metamorphosis the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, realizes his existentialism towards the end of the novella. In contrast, Monsieur Meursault, the protagonist in The Outsider, knows of his existentialism, only realizing his life’s lack of meaning moments after he is sentenced to death. Despite the somewhat absurd nature of The Metamorphosis, and the realistic nature of The Outsider, similar values are communicated to the reader. The easiest to pick out being that it is up to the individual to create his/her own life, and that the inhuman behaviour presented by both protagonists will eventually lead to very bad things; namely death in both novellas. These deaths are, however, very different, as are the methods through which Kafka and Camus have made each novel nothing but `a philosophy put into images’. Meursault (the narrator) in The Stranger only sees and only wants to see the absolute truth in society. The reader’s first encounter with him†¦ Mama died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: â€Å"Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours. † That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday. †¦ immediately gives an impression of a lack of emotion towards the demise of his mother. This lack of emotion highlights the existentialist ideal that we all die, so it doesn’t matter what life we have while we are alive. We simply exist, as did Meursault. It becomes apparent, as the novella unfolds, that Meursault has acquired an animal like indifference towards society. His interactions with his neighbour Raymond are an example of his indifferences. It never dawns upon Meursault that society does not condone his interactions with the pimp, avoided by his community. Meursault simply acts to fill his time. Being a single man, he has a lot of time to fill, and finds the weekends passing particularly slowly. While the scene passes slowly before Meursault, Camus’ text flows quickly. He uses short sharp sentences to convey an atmosphere devoid of emotion or feeling. This is especially effective between pages 21 and 24, at the end of chapter two, when Meursault is giving a descriptive narrative of the life outside his window on a typical Sunday. He ends the chapter saying `†¦ one more Sunday was over†¦ nothing had changed. ‘ Existentialism is present in nearly all of Meursault’s interactions with society. One such piece of evidence supporting Meursault’s existentialism is his interaction with Marie. His association is merely sexual and physical. Meursault uses Marie to help him pass his time: he spends an entire Saturday with her. When questioned about love and marriage, Meursault’s replies show indifference through their nothingness. Meursault is existentialist to the extent that he couldn’t care less about the path his life (or lack of one) takes. The reader is constantly bombarded with short phrases revealing ever more Meursault’s worthless outlook on a worthless existence. Examples of this come in the form of Meursault confining himself to only one room in his apartment, his ignorance to social expectations, his mindless identification with old Salamano and his dog, and most importantly his disregard for human life and the consequences for the removal of it. As mentioned in the above definition of existentialism, it stresses the responsibility for ones own actions. When Meursault comes to trial for killing the Arab, he finally realises that he can’t take the responsibility. This is the main turning point as far as existentialism is concerned in The Outsider. Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is equally as philosophical. The novella is written as a metaphor, with a very strong sense of vivid realism. The metaphor is for any situation in which someone tries to break free form a social norm, only to fall; failing to convince the society that his/her action is just. The protagonist, Gregor Samsa, brought society against him when he questioned his life as a travelling salesperson. Social expectations had put him in his place, but he decided, although the reader may assume quite subconsciously, that it was not the place for him. His wish to remove all social burdens from his shoulders is first illustrated to him through his transformation into a `monstrous vermin. ‘ The protagonist was the narrator in The Outsider, a man who told the story of his demise from existentialism, only to find he needed a life just before his chances were taken away. The Metamorphosis, on the other hand, is narrated on the third person, where the reader receives an unbiased view of Gregor Samsa’s attempts to become existentialist. Where Camus used short `to the point’ statements to show existentialism, Kafka has filled his novella with colourful descriptive literal language, in an attempt to point out the depth in any situation, such as Gregor’s many squirming legs, his visualisation of his room becoming ever smaller and ever more bland, and the descriptive nature with which the fatal apple becomes lodged in Gregor’s back and eventually allows him to die. The Outsider’s Meursault is existentialist, finding a need for a meaning to life only when his is about to be taken. In The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa, on the other hand, has a meaning to his life, and wishes it away. The gradual move towards existentialism in Kafka’s novella runs throughout, from the moment Gregor wakes up as a bug; until the moment he breaths no more. Gregor shows that he knows his life has meaning when at the beginning of the novella he is more concerned about how he will fulfil his social purpose than what he will do about being a bug. Albert Camus said that `we get into the habit of living before acquiring the habit of thinking. In that race which daily hastens us towards death, the body maintains its irreparable lead. ?In The Metamorphosis, Gregor thinks about his position, throwing his body into dismay, eventually leading to his death. As Gregor is further shunned by society for not conforming, represented in the novella quite dramatically by Gregor being a dung beetle among humans, he starts to forget any shred of meaning his life can have. He searches beyond his room for a meaning to life, but the further he ponders, the harder society hits him. `You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. ?Gregor realized his existentialism taking him over, as he gave his life to the destiny he had for it created. Having read both novellas, a reader could come to the conclusion that both feature a definite theme of existentialism, while The Outsider is centred on a protagonist who recognises the need to change from existentialism, and The Metamorphosis around one that recognises existentialism’s presence in society. At the end of each, the protagonist either dies or is awaiting death. The deaths are brought about by a destiny the Meursault thought he couldn’t change, and Gregor brought upon himself. Meursault realised too late that he wouldn’t be able to take responsibility for his actions. It was only when he was forced by the trial to delve into his memory (something that he had little use for as an existentialist) that he recognised how he had shaped his own end. Life did have meaning to him then, and his was: †¦ only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate. Gregor Samsa allowed his life to end upon realising that he was free from society, but also that existentialism rendered him useless. Before his death, his `indifference to everything was much too deep for him to have gotten on his back and scrubbed himself clean†¦ ?From Gregor’s point of view, Franz Kafka was correct in saying `A first sign of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die. ‘ The end of The Outsider sees a man ready to start again, but ready too late. The conclusion of The Metamorphosis, however, serves not only to allow the Samsa family a chance to start again, but also to highlight that even following Gregor’s horrific ordeal his family will put Gregor’s sister through the same process that lead Gregor to his death. Gregor’s sister’s life is given a meaning, and the reader often hopes that she recognises it and respects it. The Metamorphosis highlights that one must engage in social interaction to have a meaning in life, while portraying the grim hopelessness of a life determined by social interaction. The Outsider, on the other hand, follows an idea that quietly not conforming will only hurt oneself. An existentialist might argue that to hurt oneself would not matter, in hurting oneself (especially the way in which Meursault did by killing the Arab); one is giving one’s life a meaning. Even if that meaning is sufferance, the agony will still end one day, as it is destined to, removing all meaning from all life. The two novellas give an honest outline of existentialism, and give, in both cases, existentialism the negative property that it leads to death. The authors were both highly regarded by their respective peers. Camus was existentialist, and Camus referred to Kafka as an absurdist-existentialist. Both have produced works bringing to light the grim reality of existentialism, yet neither has created an advertisement for it. It could even be said that the novellas where written to give meaning to the lives of the authors, and to stop society taking the roads of the protagonists. After all, who wants their indifference to change only when they’re threatened with lawful murder? And who wants to die a worthless bug? words:1668.

Wide Dynamic Range Compression Benefits Health And Social Care Essay

Adults with a moderate sensorineural hearing loss have a demand for soft sounds to be amplified to assist with lucidity of address without traveling over a degree which the individual finds excessively loud. Moderate sensorineural hearing loss is caused by harm to outer hair cells, which can take to a reduced dynamic scope and finally, enlisting. The dynamic scope is the scope between the threshold of hearing and the uncomfortable volume degrees ( ULL ) . Venema ( 1998 ) refers to this as the floor ( threshold ) being raised and the ceiling ( ULL ) staying the same. When the ULL ‘s are unchanged, as thresholds worsen, an irregular addition in volume is perceived typically referred to as enlisting. In order to separate between different types of hearing AIDSs and happen the most suited for this type of hearing loss we have to look to see if the hearing AIDSs can embrace the individual ‘s dynamic scope without traveling over their uncomfortable volume degrees. It has been s uggested that end product restricting compaction ( CL ) and broad dynamic scope compaction ( WDRC ) hearing AIDSs are more good for this type of hearing loss compared to linear hearing AIDSs with extremum niping. Ultimately, for a moderate sensorineural hearing loss it is believed that WDRC is the most good type of elaboration at this clip. The outer hair cells in the organ of Corti have been referred to as the amplifiers of the cochlea ( Brownell, et al. , 1985 ) . In the absence of outer hair cell map, a moderate sensorineural hearing loss of around 40-50 dubnium is present ( Ryan and Dallos, 1975 ) . The most prevailing type of hearing loss in grownups is presbyacusis or age-related hearing loss ( Valente, et. Al. 2008 ) . Presbyacusis begins as a bilateral, symmetrical, high frequence sensorineural hearing loss impacting the outer hair cells in the radical terminal of the cochlea. Peoples with this type of hearing loss tend to kick about background noises such as address babbling in a noisy saloon. This can account for, what is normally referred to as the upward spread of cover, which is caused by lower frequences dissembling higher frequences ( Valente et. al. , 2008 ) . This consequences in softer, higher frequence sounds from address such as consonants being masked by lower frequence address sounds such as vowels . Presbyacusis causes a elusive lessening in hearing over clip ( Valente et. al. , 2008 ) and as a consequence, patients do non normally attend clinics until their households notice that the telecasting is excessively loud or the patient themselves realize that they can non hear every bit good in noisy state of affairss as they used to. Hearing AIDSs can include different types of compaction circuits, which can profit different types of hearing loss. Let ‘s first expression at input and end product compaction circuits. They differ to each other depending on where the volume control is located in the circuit. Output compaction circuits have the volume control before the compaction takes topographic point. This type of compaction affects the compaction kneepoint and the addition but non the maximal power end product. It is besides the type of circuit used with CL elaboration scheme and is associated with high compaction ratios and kneepoints. Input compaction has the volume control located after the compaction circuit ; therefore the sound is compressed before the volume control affects the sound. This means that the kneepoint is unaffected while the addition and maximal power end product are. This type of compaction circuit is what tends to be used with broad dynamic scope compaction ( WDRC ) scheme and is asso ciated with low compaction ratios and kneepoints ( Venema, 1998 ; Dillon, 2001 ) . The first type of compaction is end product restricting compaction elaboration. The input is additive until it reaches a high kneepoint and so it compresses the sound with a high compaction ratio ( Venema, 1998 ; Valente, et. al. , 2008 ) . This type of compaction is really similar to top out cutting ( Personal computer ) , which is found in additive hearing AIDSs, nevertheless it is more pleasant for the hearer than Personal computer because there is less deformation. Peoples with normal hearing or mild to chair hearing loss will detect that the quality of address is more deformed with restricting when compared to people with terrible to profound hearing loss who will non detect this consequence as much ( Dillon, 2000 ) . In a survey of 12 grownups with mild to chair sensorineural hearing loss, sound quality and lucidity were improved with end product restricting compaction when compared to top out cutting ( Hawkins and Naidoo, 1993 ) . It is by and large accepted that additive hear ing AIDSs with extremum niping no longer hold a topographic point in audiometry clinics and hearing assistance companies have stopped fabricating them. Wide dynamic scope compaction ( WDRC ) is a compaction scheme that aims to magnify soft sounds by a batch, medium sounds by a moderate sum and loud sounds by a little sum ( Souza and Turner, 1998 ) . WDRC tends to give more addition to soft sounds and has reasonably short onslaught and release times ( Marriage, et al. , 2005 ) . WDRC is a nonlinear compaction scheme, which tries to mime the non-linearity of the cochlea and efforts to account for loudness enlisting with sensorineural hearing loss ( Moore, et al. , 1992 ) . The threshold kneepoint is normally low at around 50 dubnium in order to magnify quiet sounds, compactions ratios are normally lower than 4:1 and onslaught and release times are short so that harmonic sounds are non masked by vowel sounds ( Valente, et. al. , 2008 ) . WDRC is a comparatively new compaction scheme that is used normally in modern digital engineering hearing AIDSs. There are assorted positions as to whether WDRC is of more benefit than additive elaboration. It has been noted in some literature that mensurable benefits of WDRC include improved hearing for soft address sounds ( Souza and Turner, 1998 ) , address in quiet, address in noise, more comfy hearing state of affairss for loud address ( Moore, et. al. , 1992 ; Davies-Venn, 2009 ) and improved acclimatization ( Yund et. al. , 2006 ) . In contrast it has besides been reviewed that WDRC may better audibleness but non needfully intelligibility when compared to linear elaboration ( Marriage, et. al. , 2005 ; Souza and Turner, 1998 ) . WDRC may be of more benefit for people with mild to chair sensorineural hearing loss compared to people with terrible to profound sensorineural hearing loss. This may be due to the suggestion that as hearing gets worse i.e. in terrible to profound sensorineural hearing loss that temporal cues are relied on more to a great extent to understand address. Since fast WDRC can alter temporal cues it may be that this population of hearing assistance wearers benefits more from compaction modification ( Jenstad and Souza, 2005 ; Davies-Venn et. Al. 2009 ) . In 1992, Brian Moore, et. Al. tested 20 topics with moderate sensorineural hearing loss, mensurating speech favoritism ability in quiet and speech response thresholds ( SRTs ) in noise. The topics were fitted with two types of hearing AIDSs: Linear amplifiers and two-band WDRC compressors. They were tested with their new hearing AIDSs and besides in an unaided status and with their ain original hearing AIDSs. With the compaction hearing aids the topics had good address favoritism tonss at all strength degrees in the quiet and the other three conditions showed diminishing address intelligibility as the strength degree got quieter. The WDRC AIDSs proved to assist topics accomplish lower SRTs in noise compared to the other conditions. Patients with decreased dynamic scopes besides benefited from the compaction hearing AIDSs more than the additive AIDSs in that they found the loud sounds more comfy. When surveyed the topics besides preferred the sound of the WDRC hearing AIDSs ( Moore, e t al. , 1992 ) . Another benefit of WDRC over liner elaboration is improved acclimatization. Acclimatization is the clip it takes for the encephalon to acquire accustomed to sound from a peculiar type of elaboration and to hold increased speech acknowledgment. Yund et. Al. ( 2006 ) did an acclimatization survey with 39 topics with mild to chair inclining sensorineural hearing loss, who had ne'er worn hearing AIDSs. They showed that topics who wore the WDRC hearing AIDSs experienced acclimatization, whereas the patients who wore additive hearing AIDSs did non demo any increased address favoritism tonss. They believed this was because the WDRC hearing assistance was able to treat the normal hearing dynamic scope into the dynamic scope of topics with mild to chair sensorineural hearing loss. After a period of have oning additive elaboration, topics were so fitted with WDRC hearing AIDSs. These topics still struggled with acclimatization after a period with their WDRC hearing AIDSs and needed excess aid in the signifier of audile preparation to acquire rid of the effects of the additive elaboration on the encephalon. Overall, it was concluded that hearing AIDSs with more sophisticated engineering may be the best AIDSs for acclimatization ( Yund, et. al. , 2006 ) . One survey compared the benefits of additive and nonlinear hearing AIDSs with address trials and Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile ( GHABP ) questionnaires. The bulk of topics preferred the WDRC nonlinear hearing AIDSs compared to the additive hearing AIDSs. They showed better tonss on address trials, had better address acknowledgment, and preferred the overall hearing experience with the WDRC hearing AIDSs. WDRC hearing AIDSs can be programmed with fast or decelerate onslaught and release times or a combination as this can be adjusted for different channels. In this survey the research workers found that there was more of a penchant for slow onslaught and release times for the most comfort and satisfaction compared to fast WDRC ( Gatehouse, et. al. , 2006 ) . In comparing, Shi and Doherty ( 2008 ) found better address acknowledgment tonss for both slow and fast, onslaught and release times compared to linear hearing AIDSs, nevertheless found no difference between tonss for slow an d fast times in WDRC. When onslaught and release times are shorter the soft address sounds are amplified more than the louder 1s. If the release clip is long so the soft and loud address sounds are amplified at the same degree, which may ensue in the softer phonemes being masked by the louder 1s ( Valente, et. al. , 2008 ) . Where to put onslaught and release times may be different for each patient depending on their penchant ; nevertheless in these surveies it has been shown that holding onslaught and release times utilizing WDRC improves speech acknowledgment tonss compared to linear hearing AIDSs. WDRC multi-channel hearing AIDSs have a distinguishable advantage over individual channel hearing AIDSs because they have the ability to utilize BILL and TILL ( characteristics of WDRC ) at the same clip ( Sandlin, 2000 ) . BILL is the â€Å" bass addition at low degrees † and TILL is â€Å" the soprano addition at low degrees † ( Dillon, 2001, pp 169 ) . BILL will be given to travel into compaction a batch more with low frequence sounds and non every bit much with high frequence sounds. The scheme of BILL is to let the hearing assistance wearer to hear better in background noise. TILL will travel into compaction more frequently with high frequence sounds and non every bit much with low frequence sounds. The scheme of TILL is to increase audibleness of high frequence sounds. Both BILL and TILL used in concurrence can make a good adjustment scheme for a level moderate high frequence sensorineural hearing loss ( Venema, 1998 ) . Dillon ( 2000 ) described two jobs that can originate with WDRC hearing AIDSs. The first job is that while WDRC hearing AIDSs magnify really soft address good, they besides amplify really soft background noises such as the clock ticking or the sound of apparels traveling ( Dillon, 2000 ) . Fortunately with newer digital engineering, hearing AIDSs are able to divide address from background noise more intuitively than with linear engineering. A manner to cover with these really low degree background noises is to utilize enlargement. Expansion is the antonym of compaction and aims to do the weakest sounds in the quietest environments unobtrusive as it is below the hearer ‘s aided threshold ( Valente, et. al. , 2008 ) . The 2nd disadvantage is the job of feedback being introduced when the hearing assistance wearer is in a quiet environment and the addition is increased ( Dillon, 2000 ; Valente, et. al. , 2008 ) . In the past few old ages digital feedback suppression/cancellation ha s become more sophisticated and this does non look to be a job with WDRC in hearing assistance wearers every bit long as a suited earmould is fitted. Wide dynamic scope compaction has been shown to hold advantages over additive elaboration utilizing compaction modification and extremum niping circuits. In some research workers sentiments it has still non been unambiguously proven that WDRC is the best adjustment scheme for all types of hearing loss. As degrees gets worse than moderate sensorineural hearing loss, the loss of outer and interior hair cell map causes temporal cues to decline. It is ill-defined whether fast WDRC may be doing deformation in address signals due to this. What is clear is that for mild to chair sensorineural hearing loss, most normally observed with presbyacusis, WDRC seems to better address acknowledgment in quiet, in noise, overall comfort and it is easier to acclimatize to have oning hearing AIDSs. There is non a great sum of recent literature on the topic of the benefits of WDRC in the moderate sensorineural hearing loss class. It would be interesting to see new research conducted to find whether there are more benefits in multichannel WDRC with newer, more intuitive, digital engineering hearing AIDSs.

A noiseless patient spider

A noiseless patient spider Group A   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the time period between 1860 and 1880, war was commonplace and it hit home for most Americans; Walt Whitman was no exception. His brother being wounded contributed to his extended stay in Washington as a nurse. This socio-cultural turmoil is reflected frequently in Whitman’s poetry. For example, in â€Å"A Noiseless Patient Spider†, Whitman expresses feelings of isolation and loneliness writing, â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦on a little promontory it stood isolated, / Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surroundingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  This excerpt clearly conveys a sense of aloneness and longing for companionship, much like Whitman probably experienced in the time period in which he lived. While the cultural upheavals of pandemonium, pride, and war swallowed most of the Americas, Whitman was caught in his own war, on the inside. Whitman longed for connectivity and wholeness in the world. Whitman’s writing also expressed his inne r desire to reach out to the world and find a connection, evident in line four of â€Å"A Noiseless Patient Spider† which reads, â€Å"It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itselfà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This line is significant to the socio-cultural state of the late-nineteenth century society because the spider, and vicariously Whitman, is attempting to reach out to the world for companionship but receiving no response, which represents the apathy of nineteenth-century people. It was more convenient to just blindly participate in a death-plagued war than to progress socially and spiritually. This is where the conflict between culture and nature begins. Nature is the interaction between Whitman and the universe, which is apparently void at this point. Culture is the cities and the masses of people as in â€Å"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry† which reads in the third line, â€Å"Crowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes, how curious you are to me!† Whitman is looking down at these people, this mass of people, and realizes he has the answers to fix the war society is struggling with; It is peace and harmony in the world through the interconnectivity of the universe. Whitman is stuck, reaching out at the world, and instead he receives the cold shoulder from the stubborn world. This is why it is so generally accepted that he was a â€Å"genius† (10) that was ahead of his time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Emily Dickinson seemed to be quite an introvert, and quite a loner, yet found such great talent and ease in expressing the feelings and emotions that were prominent in her life. In â€Å"Success is counted sweetest†, Dickinson expresses feelings of jealousy and sadness that accompany being some sort of a loser. The vivid imagery she conveys through the dying soldier â€Å"whose forbidden ear† hears the â€Å"distant strains of triumph† is an awesome expression of the anguish and sorrow that is n ecessary to know the sweetness of victory and success that Emily apparently desires in life. In â€Å"The Soul selects her own Society†, Dickinson’s use of concise speech seems to highlight the abrupt shutting of â€Å"the Door† by the soul. Dickinson personifies the soul as sitting on a throne above Emperors and â€Å"Chariots†. She believes the soul is the true king of the land and it should be worshiped as the divine medium. This poem connects back to â€Å"Success is counted sweetest† because after the soul makes its selection, all others are closed out, and denied the taste of victory and success. In â€Å"After great pain, a formal feeling comes† Dickinson portrays a death as something that slows down time and numbs a person spiritually. â€Å"First-Chill-then Stupor-then the letting go-â€Å"; the poem ends with several dashes depicting this time-altering state of shock that pain and death cause in the heart of those who experience it. Finally, in â€Å"I heard a Fly buzz-when I died†, Dickinson writes, â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Signed away / what portion of me be / Assignable-and then it was / There-interposed a Flyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  This excerpt expresses Dickinson’s frustration over the pettiness of people coming to claim their stake in someone’s life and keepsakes when they die, and if death is not unfortunate enough, a fly buzzes in front of the narrator’s eyes so that he/she cannot even experience the moment of death peacefully. This ironic ending to the life of this individual symbolizes Dickinson’s frustration with life in general.

Programmable Logic Controllers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Programmable Logic Controllers - Assignment Example That is; you can blend and match the sorts of Input and Output gadgets to best suit your application. While Ladder Logic is the most usually utilized PLC programming dialect, it is not alone. The accompanying table arrangements of some of the dialects that are utilized to program a PLC (Bolton, 2006). A complete system may contain a large number of rungs, assessed in the arrangement. Ordinarily the PLC processor will then again examine every one of its inputs and redesign yields, and then assess the stepping stool rationale; information changes amid a project sweep will not be viable until the following I/O overhaul. A complete system output may take just a couple of milliseconds, much quicker than changes in the controlled procedure (Bolton, 2006). Programmable controllers fluctuate in their abilities for a "rung" of a step graph. Some just permit a solitary yield bit. There are normally breaking points to the quantity of arrangement contacts in line, and the quantity of branches that can be utilized. Every component of the rung is assessed consecutively. In the event that components change their state amid assessment of a rung, hard-to-analyze issues can be created, albeit here and there the strategy is valuable. A few usage constrained assessment from left-to-great and did not permit converse stream of a rationale signal to influence the yield (Mikulczyński, Samsonowicz and Więcławek, 1998). The command OUT has the purpose to output the functions of the PLC. This outputs the total function of a given rung. On the other hand, SET is a command that prepares an input or output pin to receive or send a given command. When the time for receiving the command or sending has elapsed. One must RESET in order to avoid the use of the pin for other functions and bring about the confusion of the command procedure (Mikulczyński, Samsonowicz and Więcławek, 1998). Simple to-computerized transformation is an electronic process in which a constantly

Extent and characteristics of Rape in the United States Research Paper

Extent and characteristics of Rape in the United States - Research Paper Example Rape may be carried out on male or female victim by male or female offender i.e. may be a heterosexual or homosexual activity. Sexual assaults, apart from rape, also include attempted rape whereby victim is threatened with fear of being committed a rape on. It also includes forcibly fondling, touching and grabbing victim in a sexual manner against his or her will. The detailed scope of these criminal activities has been discussed later in this paper. National Crime Victimization Survey is conducted semi-annually at national level, examining population of approximately 90,000 people. Interviews are conducted and samples are randomly selected and changed after certain lapse of time to identify recurring instances. Responses are critically and thoroughly analyzed before conclusion is made about characteristics and extent of sexual assaults (Rand & Saltzman, 2003). Therefore, results are highly accurate and reliable and have been made as a sound basis of this research paper. This paper e ntails detailed metrics of occurrence of rapes and sexual violence across the United States. It also describes and analyzes the motives behind sexual offences and corresponding preventive measures to mitigate the probability of occurrences of this social evil to a minimum. Scope of activities The legal definition and meaning of activities, involving sexual violence, is different according to different jurisdictions and prevailing legal frameworks or constitutions. Sexual violence may include successfully committing, attempting to commit but unsuccessful or otherwise threatening to commit such acts of rape or sexual assault. Commercial pornographic business and professional prostitution are not considered to be part of definition of rape and sexual assaults. There are various modes of sexual assault and victimization, as suggested by Koss, Gidycz and Wisniewski in their book, including: Persistent and pressurizing demands by an individual, leading to sexual foreplay or intercourse; e xploitation of authority or dominating position by an individual, leading to sexual foreplay or intercourse; coercion and physical violence, by an individual, to force indulgence in sexual foreplay or intercourse; indulgence in sexual intercourse subsequent to being drugged or overdosed with alcohol by another individual; attempt by an individual to engage in sexual intercourse through physical force or usage of drugs or alcohol, but intercourse couldn’t occur; and coercion and physical violence, by an individual, to force indulgence in other sexual activities including anal intercourse, oral intercourse or penetration by sex toys. (Koss, Gidycz & Wisniewski, 1987) Summary of Statistics National Crime Victimization conducts periodic surveys across different territories to identify instances of rapes and sexual violence acts and quantify their frequency of occurrence and other metrics such as characteristics of offenders and victims, favorable and unfavorable circumstances lea ding to such situations and other factors that affect the likelihood of occurrence of such evils. According to recent statistics obtained through studies and research by these authorities, the aggregate rate of sexual assaults committed with females in the United States declined 64% through 1995 to 2005 and remained static upto 2010. As in 2010, there were 270,000 sexual violence a

The federal budget deficit Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The federal budget deficit - Research Paper Example The US budget picture has evolved through leaps and bounds. The current federal deficit for the government went down by 37% from the previous years pictures. The decline in the fiscal deficit shows improvement in the economy. But is the decline in the deficit figure enough for the economic longevity and prosperity? What factors can help in improving the deficit picture of the country? We will conduct an analysis to comprehend the federal budget deficit situation and find answers to the above questions. The US deficit has not always been in a bad shape with the 19th century showing surplus figures and holding deficits only during wartime. Initially the deficit was very small with numbers peaking in the World War 1 and 2. During the 1960s till the 1990s there can be seen a steady increase in the deficit. The deficit crossed the ten percent GDP barrier owing to the crises that hit the economy in the year 2008. The movement of the federal deficit can be seen from the graph below: (Usgove rnmentspending.com, 2013) Now looking at the deficit scenario one needs to understand the current market implications and the forecasted figures of the federal budget deficit. ‘The federal government took in $680 billion less revenue than it spent, or about 4.1 percent of gross domestic product. In 2012, those numbers were $1.087 trillion and 6.8 percent of GDP. That means the deficit fell a whopping 37 percent in one year.’ (Irwin, 2013) The reason behind the figures for the year 2013 is the increase in the government receipts due to the high payroll taxes that are a result of the increased income. The effect of this is the decrease in expenses is terms of unemployment insurance benefits that decreased with the improving economy. The US economy has cut its fiscal tail in order to achieve the results. But one can argue that the decline in the federal deficit is very rapid. The austerity measures taken by the government has taken a deficit that was 4.5% in the first quar ter of the this fiscal year to a 3% when the figures were published at the year-end. According to many economists the drastic measures by the government cannot improve the economy in the long run. The economy needs to grow at a steady pace keeping all its factors of production in line, leading to a better and positive growth of the country. ‘Goldman's projections indicate that simply allowing the economy to grow will result in significant deficit reduction without painful spending cuts.’ (Carter, 2013) Comparing the US economy with Greece and the like shows that the position of the economy is not alarming but a fixture is required in the near future. The President has laid a budget that does not tackle the federal budget deficit in its entirety; he has set a commission in order to obtain ideas as to bridging the gap between the public revenue and expenditure in a more meaningful manner. The effects of these changes have to be long term. The economy needs more than just an yearly decrease in the federal budget deficits. The decrease in the figure is good but not enough for long-term survival of the economy. The recent shutdown of the government offices show that deep down the picture is not that simple and although the economy has recovered from the downfall and crunch much needs to be done before it is stable in terms of growth and activity. The changes in the US economy are evident with improved standard of living and better job opportunities in the country. But along with the positives

Work experience and Impact statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Work experience and Impact statement - Essay Example Together with the support groups, we designed simple engineering structures like incinerators for public institutions’ use. On education, the activities acted as an encouragement to young people who are still at school because I conducted presentations, workshops and/or conferences meant to create awareness. In this case the society has embraced engineering to address their social and economical issues. I plan to pursue a career in transportation and cabinet whereby my main aim is to obtain a position that will enable me maximize my strong civil engineering skills in the field of transportation. I would also like to be challenged in an environment that demands engineering innovation, interpersonal, self-directed and team oriented tasks. This mainly entails ensuring smooth operations and design of highways, airports, railways and public transit (Juan et al 87). It will ultimately ensure safe and efficient movement of people and

Accounting for Leases Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Accounting for Leases - Assignment Example This assignment focuses on the alternative treatments which the lessee might adopt. Two, it looks into the current accounting treatment of leases. Finally, it will look into the impact of the proposed lease standards on the users of financial statements. a) Three alternative accounting treatments which might be adopted when lessees account for lease transactions. The lessee capitalizes an asset or a liability in the balance sheet using amounts equal to the present value of the rental payments. Generally, there is four criteria’s used in capitalization of lease payments (Nikolai, Bazley and Jones 1120). They include: Transfer of ownership of lease property to the lessee The lease has a bargain and purchase option The term of lease is the major part of the assets economic life The present value of the minimum lease payments to the fair value of the leased asset. In practice, three of the four criteria are difficult to apply due to the controversies involved (Nikolai et al 1117). Criteria number one on transfer of ownership is practical and easy to apply. Our major focus on this discussion is limited to only three criteria’s. a) The bargain and purchase option This criterion gives the lessee an option to either buy the property at a price lower than the expected fair value of the property at the option date deemed exercisable (Nikolai, Bazley and Jones 1117). ... b) Economic life test criteria When an assets economic life is a major part of the lease term, all risks and rewards are transferred to the lessee from the lesser. Capitalization in this case is therefore necessary. It is difficult to determine the economic life of the asset. In practice, the International accounting and standards board (IASB) requires a 75 percent threshold on the economic life when evaluating the economic life test (Nikolai, Bazley and Jones 1117). For example, assume company X leases Lenovo PCs for a period of two years at monthly payments of $100 per computer. It can also lease these computers for $10 per month on each computer for extra two years. The lease offers a bargain renewal option. It is difficult to determine the estimated economic life especially if the item leased is specialized. c) Recovery of investments test Capitalization is essential if the present value on the minimum lease payments equals or exceeds substantially all the fair value of the asset . At this point, a company can purchase the asset since the minimum payments are close to the fair value. The US GAAP uses 90 percent threshold on fair value in assessing the recovery of investment test (Nikolai, Bazley and Jones 1117). Lessees and lesser also consider all other factors in evaluating the lease classification criteria rather than focusing on a single element. b) Current IAS 17 Leases in the financial statements of lessee In the current International accounting standard, (IAS 17), lessees are required to provide extensive financial statement disclosures on leases than even before (Epstein, Nach and Bragg 866). This is because the accounting treatment for real estate and equipment leasing transactions has changed. In the current lessee standards, all operating

Political Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Political Topic - Essay Example Of interesting note, of those that found the crisis to be the most sever of their lfietime, the youngest group, 18-35, had the smallest percentage, 33%, compared to the over 55 age group, 42%, many of whom would have been alive during the Great Depression. Even though this group is the youngest and has the least amount of time in which to compare different crises, this smaller percentage could be in part due to the crisis affecting the financial and housing markets more, of which this younger group would be less likely to feel the effects of, as opposed to the direct effect of the price of filling up one’s tank with gas. Older Americans with assets, including owning their own house and such, would probably feel the anxiety of the financial sector being in peril. The poll found that 78% of those polled favored that some sort of government intervention be taken. Of those, 22% favored the plan that was proposed by President Bush, and 56% favored a plan different from the Bush proposal. Of those polled, only 11% favored that no action be taken at all, with another 11% having no opinion. A telephone survey was performed for this poll. There was a margin of error of plus of minus 3%. In the first set of questions asked, the poll asked what specific plan of action would they like to see done. Also, it should be noted that this poll was taken before high-intensity negotiations took place in Congress. The poll attempted to also find out to the degree at which people were following the story in the news. 80% of people were either watching the news very closely or somewhat closely, and this statistics ranked in the highest tiers as far as percentages of people following a new story. The poll also asked what the outcome would be if no action was taken by Congress, and the resounding answer was that 74% of people felt that the situation would get worse. Some of the questions tended to be

Electronic Commerce in Private Purchasing Essay Example for Free

Electronic Commerce in Private Purchasing Essay I guess you can say that ecommerce started back in the 70’s with EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer), in the 80’s with EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). The 90’s around 1995 is when the internet move from the federal sector to commercial sector when NSF (National Science Foundation) decommissioned NSFNET and move assets to vBNS (Very-High-Speed Backbone Network Services) which serves as a testing ground for the next generation of internet technologies, which allow ISP (Internet Service Providers) to develop. After the internet was develop we had an explosive growth mostly in â€Å"Dot Coms† ventures many professional left the major firm and job security to join start ups for the promise of millions of dollar. In the mid 2000 when the NASDAQ collapsed in March hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs, stock values plummeted and thousand of company filed bankruptcy, downsized or were taken over by competitors. The subsequent stock market crash caused the loss of $5 trillion in the market value of companies from March 2000 to October 2002. By the early 2003 companies that were well-conceived internet based companies were proving their values, consumers became confidence in buying over the internet and business began to realize the internet can create true operation efficiencies and increase profit. The explosion in the use of the Internet has paved the way for several path-breaking innovations. One of the most interesting and exciting aspects of this evolution is the emergence of electronic business (e-business) as a mainstream and viable alternative to more traditional methods of businesses being conducted today. E-business is defined as the process of using electronic technology to do business. It is the day and age of electronic business. Also the structure of the Web is rapidly evolving from a loose collection of Web sites into organized market places. The phenomena of aggregation, portals, large enterprise sites, and business-to-business applications are resulting in centralized, virtual places, through which millions of visitors pass daily. Ecommerce redefines the very foundations of competitiveness in terms of information content and information delivery mechanisms. Flows of information over international networks have created an electronic market-space of firms that are learning to exploit business opportunities. E-business has become standard operating procedure for the vast majority of companies. Ecommerce is the subset of e-business that focuses specifically on commerce. Commerce is the exchange of goods and services for other goods and services or for cash payment. There are several different types of ecommerce Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Business-to-Government (B2G), Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) and Mobile commerce (m-commerce). A B2B system exchanges server programs and encoded files while communicating with other businesses. There are two types of B2B websites: vertical and horizontal. A vertical B2B ecommerce website is designed to meet the needs of a specific industry, and helps build connections between business communities in order to generate new business. A horizontal ecommerce website can be used by any company that is involved in buying and selling products or services. B2B ecommerce strategy can reduce operational costs, increase sales, and strengthen relationships between trading partners. These websites can help expand your presence in the marketplace and lower your procurement costs while handling an unlimited number of products. While B2B ecommerce reduces human intervention, overhead expenses, and errors, it also increases efficiency and advertising exposure and companys sales team and account managers can concentrate on generating new business. Business to Consumer (B2C) Business to consumer is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. The more common B2C business models are the online retailing companies such as Amazon. com, Barnes and Noble and ToysRus. Other B2C examples involving information goods are E-Trade and Travelocity. The more common applications of this type of e-commerce are in the areas of purchasing products and information, and personal finance management. The market researchers from eMarketers estimate the number of online buyers to be around 900 million worldwide. This brought in the online traders worldwide a turnover of over one billion US$ for the first time. EMarketers estimate the British to be the biggest spenders per head where on average every online buyer spent 3,885 US$ in 2012. US ecommerce and Online Retail sales projected to reach $226 billion, an increase of 12 percent over 2011. 2012: US ecommerce and Online Retail holiday sales reach $33. 8 billion, up 13 percent over 2011. B2C e-commerce reduces transactions costs (particularly search costs) by increasing consumer access to information and allowing consumers to find the most competitive price for a product or service, it also reduces market entry barriers since the cost of putting up and maintaining a Web site is much cheaper than building a structure for a firm. And with information goods, B2C e-commerce is even more attractive because it saves firms from factoring in the additional cost of a physical distribution network and for countries with a growing and robust Internet population, delivering information goods becomes increasingly feasible. Electronic commerce and the Internet are redefining how consumers learn, select, purchase, and use products and services. Hence, B2C or Business-to-consumer retail holds significant business opportunities. A manufacturer with a dedicated ecommerce website can use it to increase margins, monetize existing brand loyalty and leverage competitive advantage. At the same time, he can increase awareness for the brand, provide important product information to customers, and gather valuable customer data to improve business prospects. There are a number of benefits which make owning a B2C ecommerce website inevitable for manufacturers. The ecommerce brings the shopping experience to the consumer’s home. By launching a B2C ecommerce website, the manufacturers’ bring the convenience and comfort of shopping to the consumers thereby increasing their prospective customers. When the manufacturer owns the retailing operations also, it can create brand awareness more prominently. By reaching out to new markets the manufacturers can increase their business’s brand name and about their product line. The e-shopping is accessible from anywhere anytime, thus it proves to be a quick and easy mode of providing information. Manufacturers can provide extensive updated information of their product range through their customized ecommerce website design. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) is the business of conducting goods and services over the Internet to consumers from consumers. Another way to describe C2C is that it conducts e-commerce with consumers and themselves or to a third-party. Before any consumer-to-consumer business can be formed over the Internet, there needs to established of a space where individuals can come together. These â€Å"gathering spaces† are called online or virtual community in which a collection of people come to one site to communicate, connect, and get to know one another. From there, people can establish a multitude of community themes to bring similar minded people. Some examples of communities: * Communities of interest – people who come together over the Internet to share a common interest like professions, sports, hobbies, philosophy, trading, and others. Communities of relations – people who come together over the Internet to share stories of relations such as friends, families, and/or relationships. Some examples of these communities would be like Myspace or Facebook. * Communities of fantasy – people who come together over the Internet to share fantasies over the internet like fantasy football or baseb all. Another example would be a site that allows people to write their own stories of fiction. Another type of online community that establishes a consumer-to-consumer electronic commerce is called an online or electronic auction site. An e-auction is like a regular auction; however,  the  sales of bidding are done online. It is a place where sellers and buyers bid for items listed on the auction sites such as Ebay or Amazon. Two types of auctions that can occur:   * Forward Auction – an auction that sellers use to have buyers bid on their merchandise till the highest bidder wins. * Reverse Auction – like the forward auction, this auction is used by consumers that want to buy goods or services. However, the buyer selects the seller that has the lowest bid. An example of this would be seen in Amazon. com where instead of purchasing a product from them, a person can buy from other sellers. When going into the listing of other vendors, the website usually posts the lowest asking price first. Then, the next lowest price is listed all the way up to the last seller that has the highest price of all the listings. There are many benefits that a consumer-to-consumer e-commerce has. One of the main factors is a reduction in costs. Sellers can post their goods over the internet cheaply compared to the high rent space in a store. The lower expenses lead to smaller, yet profitable customer base. Being in a community of similar interest where buyers and sellers come together leading to more chances of goods and services being sold. Another benefit is that many small businesses can obtain a higher profitability over a C2C compared to a physical store because of the reduction of overhead costs when conducting an e-business. Probably the most positive benefit of the consumer-to-consumer sites is the effectiveness in selling personal items. There are also disadvantages that a C2C e-commerce has. One of the main factors is it is not always the safest and most reliable place to conduct business. Sometimes buyers and sellers are not accommodating to each other when transactional information is needed. In these cases, a proof of purchase can solve liability issues and prevent costly lawsuits for a consumer and small businesses. Another disadvantage is that these types of sites are known for scams, swindles, and people with ill-business intentions. When things go wrong on C2C e-commerce communities, people can easily spread their stories across the internet which effectively is Word-of-Mouth advertising. Consumer-to-consumer marketing is on the rise, and 2013 will be the year when it explodes into the mainstream, becoming a must-have retail marketing tactic rather than just the mark of the out-there-brand-innovator. Communication is no longer about just businesses talking to anyone; it’s about people talking to people. Forget who’s on the end of the conversation. This is about where it all starts. The future of communications is C2C, or consumer2consumer or people2people. Individuals, whether buying for business or for themselves, are talking to and listening to other consumers. They are setting the agenda, leading the conversation, sharing their views, recommending the best products and deciding whether brands are successful or not. No longer are consumers just taking in information corporations and brands are spewing at them. Now they question and make brands earn their loyalty. Because of social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, consumers are now quick to ask brands: What can you do for me? So, today challenge is getting people talking about brands in a positive way, not getting brands to talk to people. With so many touch points, brands must move away from the traditional 1960s formula of one-sided information and start having conversations with consumers. Consumers want brands to be authentic and have a real human voice they can speak with when something goes wrong or right. Business-to-Government (B2G) Business-to-government (B2G) is a variation of the term business-to-business the concept that businesses and government agencies can use central Web sites to exchange information and do business with each other more efficiently than they usually can off the Web. A Web site offering B2G services could provide businesses with a single place to locate applications and tax forms for one or more levels of government (city, state or province, country, and so forth); provide the ability to send in filled-out forms and payments; update corporate information; request answers to specific questions. B2G may also include e-procurement services, in which businesses learn about the purchasing needs of agencies and agencies request proposal responses. B2G may also support the idea of a virtual workplace in which a business and an agency could coordinate the work on a contracted project by sharing a common site to coordinate online meetings, review plans, and manage progress. B2G may also include the rental of online applications and databases designed especially for use by government agencies. This kind of e-commerce has two features: first, the public sector assumes a pilot/leading role in establishing e-commerce; and second, it is assumed that the public sector has the greatest need for making its procurement system more effective. Web-based purchasing policies increase the transparency of the procurement process and reduce the risk of irregularities. To date, however, the size of the B2G e-commerce market as a component of total e-commerce is insignificant, as government e-procurement systems remain undeveloped. Mobile commerce (m-commerce) More and more users are buying tablets and using them for e-commerce due to the convenience it provides. The latest report from eMarketer predicts a surge in tablet commerce, turning the m-commerce into a $50 billion industry next year. The overall mobile commerce spending, including both tablets and Smartphone’s, in 2012 was $24. 66 billion, and this figure represented an 81% increase from the 2011 figures. EMarketer also report predicts total ecommerce spending from tablet devices alone to touch $24 billion by the end of 2013 and then almost double itself in a year to reach $50 billion by the end of 2014. The total mobile m-commerce sales would stand at about $39 billion in 2013. In 2013, 15% of all sales is expected to come from mobile devices, with tablets alone accounting for a dominant 9%. By 2016, tablets alone will account for a significant 17% of all sales. A big reason for the surge is the increasing rate of tablet adoption, as more and more people buy this new device. Traditionally, the ratio of new devices has been four Smartphone’s for every tablet. But Christmas Day 2012 sprang another surprise, when 49% of the 17. 4 million new devices activated were actually tablets. As content delivery over wireless devices becomes faster, more secure, and scalable, some believe that m-commerce will surpass wire line e-commerce as the method of choice for digital commerce transactions. This may well be true for the Asia-Pacific where there are more mobile phone users than there are Internet users. Industries affected by m-commerce include: Financial services, including mobile banking, as well as brokerage services; Telecommunications, in which service changes, bill payment and account reviews can all be conducted from the same handheld device; Service/retail, as consumers are given the ability to place and pay for orders on-the-fly; Information services, which include the delivery of entertainment, financial news, sports figures and traffic updates to a single mobile device.

Impressionist Artists and Artworks

Impressionist Artists and Artworks The Impressionism movement in art was followed by the Realism and Romantic periods. In complete contrast to Realism and Romanticism, with its detailed, accurate and photo-like paintings of contemporary life, Impressionism brought about more of a blurred reality to the canvas. Specific techniques Impressionist artists used were unblended colors and quick, short brush strokes with a unique play on light. An Impressionist artists goal was to objectively paint reality in terms of transient effects of light and color.(1) The Impressionist artist would place vibrantly contrasting colors directly on the canvas; which was a great contrast to the traditional art of blending somber colors. Not understanding, or accepting these new techniques, the Salon of the French Academy consistently rejected most artwork by Impressionist artist. These rejections from the Salon eventually forced a group of Impressionist painters to organize their own exhibitions; Exhibitions of the Independent Artists. Claude Monet was the chief pioneer of the Impressionism period. Monet was born in Paris (1840-1926) and moved near Le Havre at a young age. At only the age of 15, Monet created his first successful drawings of caricatures. Monet continued to study drawing until he met Eugene Boudin, who is responsible for intruding Monet to a new style of painting; stepping outside the studio and painting in the open air. This style would give way to more than 60 years of art that used effective methods to transform perception into pigment. (1) During Monets later years of life he began to paint series of paintings, each one based on a certain subject. Each series offered different views of the same subject, by painting at different times of day or seasons. One series in particular, which is exhibited at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, is the Water Lilies series. This series by Monet are also personally my favorite paintings from all the ones that were covered this semester. The death of his wife and stepdaughter took a great toll on his spirit, fortunately, Monet he was able to find peace in the water of his pond and garden. Monet was captivated daily by the opening and closing of the lilys blossoms. He meditated while watching the reflections the clouds drift across the ponds surface. Although he began to lose his eye sight due to cataracts around this time, he did not let that hinder his paintings. Monet painted approximately 250 oil paintings that completed his series of Water Lilies. The Water Lilies series was the last series of paintings by Monet. There is a noticeable difference in his portrayal of light and air in most of his Water Lilies series. Despite the loss of light, color seems to be more expressive, along with curling movement of his brushstrokes. Monets Impressionist style starts to become more subjective with this series- which may be due to the loss of his eyesight. The lilies have large pads and blossoms which look as though they are floating in space. Monet was able to spatially embrace his canvas which allowed us to feel and know the painting went beyond the frame. He encompassed the canvas with flowing clouds, which are only seen as reflections on the lily pond with an open composition. Imagine a circular room, the dado below the wall molding entirely filled with a plane of water scattered with these plants, transparent screens sometimes green, sometimes mauve. The calm, silent, still waters reflecting the scattered flowers, the colors evanesce nt, with delicious nuances of a dream-like delicacy. (3) Edgar Degas is another Impressionist painter who also was born in Paris (1834-1917.) Degas came from a proud, wealthy, Parisian family who were related to minor aristocrats. He was fortunate enough to attend a prestigious all boys school, the Lycee Louis-le-Grand. Music played a huge role during his upbringing. His mother was an opera singer and his father arranged recitals. Degass mother passed when he was only 15 years old, leaving behind 5 children. With encouragement from his father he enrolled at the prominent Ecole des Beaux-Arts school in 1855. Only one year later, Degas left Paris and went on a three year study and travel in Italy. During this time, he saturated himself with antiquity paintings and sculptures and the Renaissance. He filled his sketchbook with hundreds of copies of art by Michelangelo, da Vinci and other artist. After his return home, Degas began to paint portraits of family members with the intentions of submitting them to the Salon. However, Degas was never satisfied with his own work. humbled by his exposure to the Italian masters, Degas scraped down and reworked parts of his own canvases, initiating a habit of technical self-criticism that was to last a lifetime. (4) Degas painted many history paintings; however, he began to find himself drawn to paintings of the everyday life. His transition to paint modern subject matter was a very gradual one. He was able to apply his knowledge of past artist but steer it towards people of the modern day and subject matter like no other artist. Degass variety with his use of mediums and subjects matters seems to be endless. His drawings include examples in pen, ink, pencil, chalk, pastel, charcoal, and oil on paper, often in combination with each other, while his paintings were carried out in watercolor, gouache, distemper, metallic pigments, and oils, on surfaces including card, silk, ceramic, tile, and wood panel, as well as widely varied textures of canvas. (4) Combine his talent with his knowledge of traditional art makes him the most accomplished draftsman of the Impressionist. While he is most well known for his works with humans (particularly females) he also painted a great deal on the modern life of P aris and successfully sketched many landscape pieces. In Degass later years can began to combine his love for the female body with his love for landscapes. The pastel Russian Dancer (exhibited in the Houston Museum of Fine Arts) is a great example of how Degas united both of his loves to reveal his true abilities as an artist. This pastel also is reflective in his shift toward his series work. Degas executed these pastels by studying the poses of the Russian women and sketched them first in charcoal on tracing paper, then transferred particular poses and gestures from work to work. Degas invented the technique of superimposing layers of pastel, which created a sort of transparency in the art piece. Layering the pastels intensified the hues and contrasts within the landscape. Through his use of vibrant colors, mediums, innovative techniques and explosively drawn movements, make Russian Dancers and Degass other late pastels among the most extraordinary in the history of that medium.(5) Romantic Period with works from Francisco de Goyas Still Life with Golden Bream and Joseph Mallord William Turners Sheerness as Seen from the Nore The term Romanticism in art is given to a time period from about the mid 18th century through mid 19th century. Romanticism, like most other art movements, was an art that was trying to push away from the previous (neoclassical) styles of arts. This movement renounced the neoclassical styles of balance, precise lines, clarity, order, unity and symmetry. Romantic artist emphasized on emotion, including terror, awe, joy, and loneliness. These artists wanted nothing to do with the harmony, rationality, and order of the neoclassical painters. They rejected the tiny brushstrokes of previous artist and celebrated their works with active, stimulating brushwork. Nature landscapes were also a major part of the romantic period. Romantics felt a strong connection with nature and had a deep interest in capturing the serenity or exoticism of it. Also, they used nature to convey emotions. During this time period, the works of art derived from the individual, opposed to collective reactions of othe rs. Romanticism can basically be described as irrational, imaginative, personal and mostly emotional. The Romantic movement first developed in northern Europe with a rejection of technical standards based on the classical ideal that perfection should be attained in art.(6) Francisco Jose de Goya was a famous romantic artist born in Spain (1746-1828.) Goya was trained in Naples, Madrid and Italy. It was in Rome that Goya received his first significant commission for frescoes in the cathedral. It took Goya 10 years to finish all the frescoes; however, these first works of art from Goya are considered Rococo style. In 1771, Goya began a career as a court painter. These painting consisted mostly of contemporary life aristocratic and popular pastimes. In 1785, he was appointed deputy director of painting at the Academy and the following year painter to King Charles III.(7) During this time, Goyas painted portraits of figures in full-length, mostly of society women. The death of Charles III in 1788, a few months before the outbreak of the French Revolution, brought to an end the period of comparative prosperity and enlightenment in which Goya reached maturity.(7) An illness in 1792 left Goya permanently deaf. At this point, is when Goya begins to take on a n ew personality with freedom of expression and imagination is his art. His experiences allowed him to have a more critical point of view, which in turn, allowed more maturity in his art work. Goyas Still Life with Golden Bream (exhibited at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts) is one still life painting, out of only one dozen still lifes, that Goya painted, all being painted in the last decade of his life. This painting depicts a pile of bream fish. The incredible use of light makes it seems as though the fish are very much alive and staring directly at you. The detail captured in the blank expressions have the audience feeling that at any moment, the fish will stop playing dead and start whaling about on the table. The eyes of the fish are yellow, huge and wide opened and give this painting an unbelievable eeriness. Although the subject of this work is simple-a pile of dead fish-it expresses a moving pathos reminiscent of Goyas etching series Disasters of War, one of the artists great achievements. Both the print series and Still Life with Golden Bream were completed during the terrible war between Spain and France, and both serve as meditations on death and violence.(8) Joseph Turner was an English Romantic landscape painter born in 1775. There are several professional drawings on record from Turner starting at the age of only 12. At the age of 14, Turner enrolled in the Royal Academy and soon began to exhibit his watercolor paintings there. His early works of art were traditional in techniques and in character, painting mostly topographical places. Welsh landscape painter Richard Wilson helped broaden Turners outlook and revealed to him a more poetic and imaginative approach to landscape, which he would pursue to the end of his career with ever-increasing brilliance.(7) Turner began publishing a series of 100 plates known as the Liber Studiorum in 1807. The goal was for Turner to document a vast variety and range of landscapes. In 1808, Turner completed a seascape named Sheerness as Seen from the Nore. This painting depicts the smaller boats being thrown about in angry part of the ocean. The white peaks on wave give way to unsettling events that seem to take place more in the future than the present. The fearful emotions from the swirling clouds only add to the anticipation The composition is dominated by the light of the sun rising at the left, and by the vigor of the foreground swell; as so often in Turner, the distant ships are silhouetted against a strip of light at the horizon, the guard ship at the left forming an area of repose in otherwise turbulent design. (9) Turner ruled the art world with his range and sublimity of his expressive study of light, color, and atmosphere and is commonly referred to as the painter of light.

Broadcast Journalists and The Inverted Pyramid Style of Presenting the

In 1965, American broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow stated, â€Å"We cannot make good news out of bad practice.† Although this quotation was originally in response to critics who wanted him to ignore racial problems to promote a better public image abroad, it can also be applied to the importance of presenting a quality newscast. In America, news media is considered the forth branch of the United States government. This concept stems from a belief that it is the news media's responsibility to deliver clear and accurate information to the populace in a compelling manner. Considering the effect the news has on society, as journalism scholars we need to ask why clarity and attention are important in a newscast and what can be done to ensure clarity and attention is used in a news video or news broadcast? Using the 2010 textbook Broadcast News Handbook and personal experiences from Digital News class, we will analyze the following questions. To do so, we will examine the importance of clarity and attention in a newscast, and then finally take a look at three aspects to ensure clarity and attention is in a news video or news broadcast. First, there is the importance of clarity and attention in a newscast. The history of delivering news has evolved throughout the years. From exchange information via radio to have a having a television channel’s primary objective be producing news, the news media have grown in the methods notifying the public. However, a couple of things that hasn’t change are the media’s goal of delivering clear and engaging products. As Assistant Professor Dave Cupp of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill explained in a 2010 article, â€Å"Today the world remains as confusing as ever, and new technolog... ... a report remember to record scenes that involve some sort of action, the viewer will be persuade to pay attention because the are interested in what the people are doing. CONCLUSION By understanding why clarity and attention are important in a newscast and observing three ways to ensure these functions are used in a news video or news broadcast, we can see the responsibility the forth branch has to society. Edward R. Murrow attempted to accomplish these traits in all of his broadcasts. Canadian educator Marshall McLuhan’s contention is that â€Å"the medium is the message.† However, the authors of the textbook believe that the message is the message and the medium is simply a means to get that message to an audience. Regardless which statement you agree with, the main point is that the message is important and we, as reporters, have an obligation to present it.

The Matrix Essay -- essays research papers

The Matrix In 1999 directors/writers Larry and Andy Wachowski (Bound) made a dark and often disturbing Science Fiction film, The Matrix. With the production expertise of Joel Silver (Commando, Predator, Lethal Weapon series, and Die Hard series), Andrew Mason (The Crow, Dark City) and Barrie M. Osborne (Face/Off, The Fan, Child's Play), The Matrix is sure to be a favorite among Science Fiction movie fans for years to come. The Matrix won the Oscar award in all four categories it was nominated for; Best Sound, Best Sound Affects Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing. More DVD’s of The Matrix were sold then the movie â€Å"The Titanic†. The hard work of choreographer Yuen Wo Ping (Iron Monkey, Fists of Legends) make the fight scenes very much in the Hong Kong style of film-making, including the part where one of the fighters taunts the other, by daring them to be aggressive. The music featuring artists like Rob Zombie, Ministry, Deftones, and Monster Magnet, complement s the mood of the movie remarkably well. The Matrix is filled with the spectacular visual effects of a science fiction masterpiece, and at the same time has the killer fight scenes that are included in a true action movie. â€Å"Have you ever had a dream Neo, that you were so sure was real†¦what if you were unable to awaken from that dream? How would you know the difference from the dream world and the real world?† is one of many powerful quotes spouted out by the mysterious Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) throughout The Matrix. This particular quote however, is important to the audience because it serves as a life preserver to those who might get lost in the movie’s rather complex plot. It helps establish a common ground with each and every viewer alike in that everybody has had an experience where they couldn’t tell if they were dreaming or not. In this apocalyptic science fiction action movie, Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a mild mannered young man, who works as a systems programmer for a respectable software company. In his spare time Anderson assumes the role of Neo, a computer hacker who is guilty of every computer crime for which there exists a law against. Throughout his Anderson has had strange dreams of unreality, but hasn't been able to figure out their true meaning. He believes the only way to find the answer is to consult an all-powerful computer hacker (the fore mentioned ... ...e seen in a human being, as he dodges all of the bullets fired at him except one. The visual effect used to show Neo dodging the bullets in slow motion creates a sort of break dancing look that is astonishing. References to this film have appeared in movies as diverse as Battlefield Earth, Charlie's Angels, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, Osmosis Jones, Scary Move, Shrek, and Swordfish; as well as a few commercials and television shows. The Matrix's popularity has even transferred itself to the computer desktop in the form of screensavers, desktop themes, and wallpaper. The movie ends with the destruction of the agents by our hero Neo. He finally realizes that he is truly the chosen one. He actually begins to see the matrix for what it really is, and uses his own powers to defeat the agents. I feel that I may have spoiled much of the movie for you in my description, but I will have you know that the rest is quite worth your while. Hearing about this movie is not enough. As stated by the mysterious Morpheus towards the beginning of the movie, â€Å"One cannot be told what the matrix is, he must see it himself.† This movie is definitely worth taking the time to see.

Persuasive Essay Against Capital Punishment -- Papers Death Penalty Ar

Persuasive Essay Against Capital Punishment â€Å"Kill. (Verb) To make someone or something die.† Does anyone really think they have the right to take another person’s life? Apparently yes. Perhaps we should give the judge a knife and tell her that if she has decided that the accused is guilty, she should stab him herself. Perhaps then she would hesitate. But if many people (hundreds or thousands who operate the judicial system) are involved, it spreads, or even divides the feeling of culpability among many. They may feel less guilty, especially if they believe that they are representing the whole society of their country. What makes it seem more â€Å"humane† is the official perspective of it. Death here is a matter of paperwork, not actually a case of ending someone’s life. I am absolutely opposed to the death penalty. In this essay I will try to explain why I think society should not accept this barbaric punishment. The most common argument in favour of the death penalty is that it is a deterrent, i.e. someone who has murder in mind will think better of it when he realises that he could be facing death. However, I do not agree with this. When a murderer commits a crime he believes that he will not be caught. Numerous studies have tried to prove the deterrence factor, but have been unable to. A criminal dreads a lifetime prison sentence more than, or the same as, the death penalty in any case. There are two types of murders: crimes committed on the â€Å"spur of the moment† (i.e. passion crimes which have not been planned) and pre-meditated murder. If it is a crime of passion, the murderer is not thinking of the consequences at t... ... are then disbarred. They have little incentive to fight for the case when their salary may be under  £4 an hour. Finally, who are we to play with the lives of other people? Each person is just one life – how can one life be allowed to designate when the other must finish? Man is man, not God. Only God should have a divine right over a man’s life. Man is equal to man, and for him to take on the role of a superior being can only cause chaos. I believe that it is the duty of a system of justice to protect society from criminals, either by psychological rehabilitation or by imprisoning them for life if necessary; not by murdering them. Capital punishment is used to condemn the guilty of severe crimes. This means: to teach a criminal how to be humane, they must be killed inhumanely. Does this seem logical?

He Nine Steps O the Accounting Cycle

The nine steps of the accounting cycle are You must collect and analyze all transactions. It will determine the effect of their financial position in the business. The equations must balance once the transactions are recorded. Journalize the transactions in the general ledger, which should be organized by the specific account. This should happen at least once a month. The next step is to post to the ledger accounts, this should be step 3 in the accounting process.Prepare a Trial Balance to make sure the process of totaling debits and credits to make sure the sum of debits equals the sum of credits, check to make sure both columns balance out. Journalize and Post Adjusting Entries Use entries that are adjusted: deferrals and accruals. And adjust entries that are made from the company's worksheet, an accounting tool prepared at the end of each period. Make preparation to the Adjusted Trial Balance, This is a sheet used to verify the balance of debits and credits after the adjusting ent ries are made in the accounting cycle.Prepare Financial Statements. Once all adjustments are done, the final trial balance will be used to prepare income statement and balance sheet. Post the Closing Entries and Journalize, and at the end of a fiscal period you must close the temporary accounts. Prepare a post-closing trial balance to make sure that all revenue and expense accounts are already closed, and check the debit and credit balances of all the balance sheet accounts. www. accountingverse. com/accounting-basics/accounting†¦

After the Journey Essay

Steve Clark, who wrote â€Å"Travel Writing and Empire† believes that â€Å"the traveller is altered, sometimes changed utterly† when he or she journeys in an unfamiliar environment; some stories from real life do prove this statement.   There are also well-known fictional travellers who can show how significant and life-changing journeys can be, and this is where we focus.   However, before dealing with these characters, imagine travelling to foreign countries, immersing in other cultures, and either fighting against or indulging in the new experiences.   These experiences, negative or positive, become part of the traveller’s life, however little the effect may appear. Robinson Crusoe’s wanderlust has led him to an experience that he has never thought possible.   All he has longed for is a taste of adventure, but what he has to give in exchange for this adventure is practically his whole life.   Meanwhile, Lemuel Gulliver only wants to relate his travels to other people. He professes that â€Å"I rather chose to relate plain matter of fact in the simplest manner and style, because my principal design was to inform, and not to amuse thee.† (Swift, 1962)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Robinson Crusoe’s† plot begins with disobedience.     Both Robinson Crusoe’s parents have opposed his desire to go on a voyage. â€Å"He asked me what reasons, more than a mere wandering inclination, I had for leaving father’s house and my native country, where I might be well introduced, and had a prospect of raising my fortune by application and industry, with a life of ease and pleasure†. (Defoe)   Crusoe is reminded by his father that he does not need to seek his fortune or win honour of some kind.   His later wretched condition reminds him of his father’s warnings. â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† is believed to be based on the life of Alexander Selkirk who has run away to sea in 1704.   He has made a request to be left alone in an uninhabited island before being rescued after five years. (Bibliomania) Crusoe’s experience is of course more imaginative and more complex, as Daniel Defoe adds in more adventures for the castaway. Although Crusoe’s situation is not contrived like Selkirk’s, who has clearly requested to be left alone, his strong desire to continue setting out to sea even after a perilous first voyage has led him to a similar fate.   Surviving the first voyage, Robinson Crusoe has continued his adventures and has ended up living in an uninhabited island alone. Crusoe has started the voyage as an inexperienced young man who has lived in comfort; he cannot have gone through his voyages without being changed in some manner.   Crusoe’s love for travel is undeniable.   He has risked not only a secure livelihood in order to pursue the adventure, but also his life.   As a person, he already does not conform to what the society expects of him.   Nevertheless, the castaway experience is still extreme even to an adventurer. Crusoe has to do things that he wouldn’t normally do given his former comfortable lifestyle.   A man who has not been trained to practice a trade, he has learned to create necessary tools and gear ranging from clay containers and clothes, to even a canoe. He has become very self-sufficient and resourceful as needed by the situation.   His daily experiences also range from peaceful inventions to discovering cannibals, saving a native whom he has named â€Å"Friday† and has even earned himself a fortune.   These experiences themselves can affirm that Robinson Crusoe is not the same man who has left his home for the first time.   Robinson Crusoe, who has been expected to live comfortably and without much risk, has proven himself to be capable of seeking his fortune on his own.   He not only changes himself in the process, but he also changes the perceptions of what a person must or must not do in society. Through his example, people are able to see that it can be profitable, although difficult, to go outside of the box that people of Crusoe’s time seem to have locked themselves in.   Crusoe experiences changes in his attitude towards religion.   Even though there is no longer a physical church to attend a mass in, it is in his solitude and with a Bible in hand that he is able to commune with God and nature.    Some critics have noted this as a sign that â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† is a morality story which begins with disobedience and results to conversion. (The Development of the Novel)   What cannot be changed in Crusoe, however, is his humanity.   Humans still long for the company of other human beings.   He does meet and obtain the companionship of the native, Friday, but he is unused to the other man’s culture.   Crusoe later develops a more open-minded attitude towards other cultures because of his immersion into their worlds.   He even tries to understand the cannibalistic ways of the natives. Now, we look at â€Å"Gulliver’s Travels.†Ã‚   Gulliver’s adventures are more fantastical than Crusoe’s.   He encounters little people and giants, and other strange communities.   There must be a change in Gulliver after years of travelling to such places.   In fact, Gulliver has to adapt in each of the four places that he visits. Like Crusoe’s first voyage, Gulliver’s first venture is met with dangerous weather.   This results to his being shipwrecked in Lilliput, where he describes the people to be less than six inches tall. (Swift, 1962)   Gulliver has to convince the Lilliputians that he is harmless.   He later gains their trust and has become the community hero, having been able to help the little people against their rival, the Blefescudans. Gulliver no longer wants to comply with the Lilliputians’ further demands and has to flee to save his life.   After his stay in Lilliput, his numerous adventures include an encounter with giants who make him feel like a Lilliputian, and meeting horses who rule over Yahoos, who are uncivilized human beings. During the various encounters, Gulliver is introduced to different kinds of civilisations.   His understanding of what an empire is broadens, as he encounters the various kinds of kingdoms, with their unique beliefs and practices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Gulliver’s Travels† is tagged as a satire; Critics believe in the need to study Jonathan Swift’s background in order to fully understand the historical context in which he is writing the novel.   Swift is reported to have prior political influence, when he was still supporting the Whig Party.   He shifts his alliance to the Tory Party upon hearing that the Whig Party is opposed to the Anglican Church.   When the Whig Party gains more influence, Swift loses his.   This is believed to have caused Swift’s hostility against the government in London. (Glasgow University Library)   The different characters within the various communities Gulliver encounters in the story are said to be based on real political figures. Lemuel Gulliver is altered by his many adventures.   He has learned that there is not just one type of community for which the others are based.   For each new place, he has to adapt in order to fit into the norm.   Each adaptation is a change in Gulliver.   In fact, his immersion into the world of Houyhnhnms, which are horse-like creatures, has even created a dislike for humans in him.   Gulliver has to re-accustom himself to life with ordinary people when he goes home. â€Å"My wife and family received me with great surprise and joy, because they concluded me certainly dead; but I must freely confess the sight of them filled me only with hatred, disgust, and contempt; and the more, by reflecting on the near alliance I had to them†. (Swift, 1962) This is proof enough that journeys can totally alter the traveller, as is with Gulliver who not only changes a bit but drastically. â€Å"It is easy for us who travel into remote countries, which are seldom visited by Englishmen or other Europeans, to form descriptions of wonderful animals both at sea and land. Whereas a traveller’s chief aim should be to make men wiser and better, and to improve their minds by the bad, as well as good, example of what they deliver concerning foreign places.† (Swift, 1962) The above declaration by Gulliver signifies his belief that the traveller can effect a change in how other people think.   Even in real societies, people who have experience living in, or visiting foreign places come back with new beliefs that either blend with or completely erase their old ones.   They may not be completely different people, because Robinson Crusoe still longs for the company of fellowmen, but there are definite changes.   Each experience in life leaves indelible marks in the person who goes through it. Moreover, Gulliver has to undergo an adjustment period after being almost chameleon-like in his adjustments in different civilisations.   Robinson Crusoe has to transition from his comfortable and secure life to a life that is at times spent in solitude and sometimes spent in danger.   He also becomes better in touch with his spiritual side, while becoming a person who can survive anywhere.   It can be then concluded that the two classic novels, â€Å"Gulliver’s Travels† and â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† support Steve Clark’s idea that journeying into unfamiliar territory will alter or change the traveller completely. References Bibliomania. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2007, from Bibliomania: Free Online Literature and Study Guides: http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/17/31/frameset.html Defoe, D. (n.d.). Robinson Crusoe. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Dead Men Tell No Tales: http://www.deadmentellnotales.com/onlinetexts/robinson/crusoe.shtml Glasgow University Library. (n.d.). Special Collections Department. Retrieved October 18, 2007, from http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/jan2006.html Swift, J. (1962). Gulliver’s Travels and Other Writings. (M. K. Starkman, Ed.) New York: Bantam Books. The Development of the Novel. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2007, from University of St. Andrews: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~cjmm/Crusoelec.html   

Children Getting Parents in Trouble

Although children are a parents responsibility, parents are not constantly with their children to keep them from doing irresponsible acts. Parents can only control what their children are doing if they are in their sight. Children will often blame their parents for their actions when in reality the child is either pressured by a friend, curious, or wanting to live the â€Å"life of a teenager† and have fun. It is argued that parents should know where their children are but, children are not stupid and have many ways of working around that. They could tell their parents that they are going to go to their friends house and spend the night. The parents can only trust that their child is actually there. Then, there is a problem with parents who do not care at all about what their children do. If a child (child 1) was to spend the night at a friends house (child 2) and the parents of child 2 did not care at all about what the kids did and the kids went out to a party and got really drunk causing them to make some bad decisions, probably drunk driving, arsine, or murder. Than the parent that should have been watching the children is at partial fault. But they are not always the ones who get charged for the crime and it’s the other parents who get the blame. Parents can not help the curiosity that their children have. Children know right from wrong and know that what they are doing is not appropriate. They need to be punished for what they have done, if every child got away with crime and their parents were charged, than the child would never learn from their mistakes and think that they will be able to get away with anything and continue to commit crimes.

Enterprise Risk Management

Enterprise / Operational Risk Management IT Audit Manager City National Bank California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Enterprise risk management (ERM) is a relatively new discipline that focuses on identifying, analyzing, monitoring, and controlling all major risk classes (e. g. , credit, market, liquidity, operational risk classes). Operational risk management (ORM) is a subset of ERM that focuses on identifying, analyzing, monitoring, and controlling operational risk. The purpose of this paper is to explain what enterprise risk management is and how operational risk management fits into the ERM framework. In our conclusion, we discuss what is likely to happen in the ERM / ORM environment over the next 5 years. Introduction As the Internet has come of age, companies have been rethinking their business models, core strategies, and target customer bases. â€Å"Getting wired,† provides businesses with new opportunities, but brings new risks and uncertainty into the equation. Mismanagement of risk can carry an enormous cost. In recent years, business has experienced numerous, related risk reversals that have resulted in considerable financial loss, decrease in shareholder value, damage to company reputations, dismissals of senior management, and, in some cases, the very dissolution of the business. This increasingly risky environment, in which risk mismanagement can have dire consequences, mandates that management adopt a new more proactive perspective on risk management. What is Enterprise / Operational Risk Management? Clearly, there is a correlation between effective risk management and a well-managed business. Over time, a business that cannot manage risk effectively will not prosper and, perhaps fail. A disastrous product recall could be the company’s last. Rogue traders lacking oversight and adequate controls have destroyed old well-established institutions in a very short time. But, historically, risk management in even the most successful businesses has tended to be in â€Å"silos†Ã¢â‚¬â€the insurance risk, the technology risk, the financial risk, the environmental risk, all managed independently in separate compartments. Coordination of risk management has usually been non-existent, and identification of emerging risks has been sluggish. This paper espouses a recent concept—enterprise-wide risk management—in which the management of risks is integrated and coordinated across the entire organization. A culture of risk awareness is created. Companies across a wide crosssection of industries are beginning to implement this effective new methodology. 1 Enterprise / Operational Risk Management At first glimpse, there is much similarity between operational risk management and other classes of risk (e. . , credit, market, liquidity risk, etc. ) and the tools and techniques applied to them. In fact, the principles applied are nearly identical. Both ORM and ERM must identify, measure, mitigate and monitor risk. However, at a more detailed level, there are numerous differences, ranging from the risk classes themselves to the skills needed to work with operational risk. Operational risk management is just beginning to define the next phase of evolution of corporate risk management. Should firms be able to develop successful ORM programs, the next step will be for these firms to integrate ORM with all other classes of risks into truly enterprise-wide risk management frameworks. See Exhibit 1 for an example of an ERM / ORM organizational structure representative of the banking industry: ERM Organization Chart CEO Group Risk Director (ERM) Economic Capital (Planning) & Risk Transfer Group Risk Executive Committee Change Program Credit Risk * Market Risk* Operational Risk (ORM)* Corporate Compliance IT Security and Business Continuity Corporate Risk Evaluation (Audit) †¢ Note – the major categories of risk to which financial services firms expose themselves are credit risk, market risk and operational risk. Not surprisingly, financial services firms’ largest risk concentrations—credit risk and market risk are most effectively managed. Exhibit 1 2 Why Enterprise / Operational Risk Management? There are many reasons ERM / ORM functions are being established within corporations. following are a few of the reasons these functions are being established. Organizational Oversight Two groups have recently emphasized the importance of risk management at the organization’s highest levels. In October 1999, the National Association of Corporate Directors released its Report of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Audit Committees, which recommends that audit committees â€Å"define and use timely, focused information that is responsive to important performance measures and to the key risks they oversee. † The report states that the chair of the audit committee should develop an agenda that includes â€Å"a periodic review of risk by each significant business unit. In January 2000, the Financial Executives Institute released the results of a survey on audit committee effectiveness. Respondents, primarily chief financial officers and corporate controllers, ranked â€Å"key areas of business and financial risk† as most important for audit committee oversight. In light of events surrounding recent corporate scandals (e. g. , Enr on, etc. ), and the increasing executive and regulatory focus on risk management, the percentage of companies with formal ERM methods is increasing and audit committees are becoming more involved in corporate oversight. The UK and Canada have set forth specific legal requirements for audit committee oversight of risk evaluation, mitigation, and management which are widely accepted as best practices in the U. S. Magnitude of Problem The magnitude of loss and impact of operational risk and losses to date is difficult to ignore. Based on years of industry loss record-keeping from public sources, large operational risk-related financial services losses have averaged well in excess of $15 billion annually for the past 20 years, but this only reflects the large public and visible losses. Research has yielded nearly 100 individual relevant losses greater than $500 million each, and over 300 individual losses greater than $100 million each. 1 Exhibit 2 is a listing of major operational losses. Interestingly enough, the majority of these losses have occurred in financial services, which explains the industry’s leading focus on operational risk management especially in the area of asset-liability modeling and treasury management models to manage risks in the highly volatile capital markets activity of derivative trading and speculation. The 1 Hoffman, Douglas G. , Managing Operational Risk (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2002), p. xvi. 3 Top Operational Risk Losses Company Numerous Financial Institutions and Others BCCI Sumitomo Corporation Tokyo Shinkin Bank Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Daiwa Bank Barings Non-Financial Institutions: LTCM Texaco, Inc. Cendant Corporation Dow Corning St. Francis Assisi Foundation Mettlgesellschaft Owens Corning Fiber Glass Orange Count y Atlantic Richfield Kashima Oil Showa Shell Prudential Securities Drexel Burnham Lambert General Motors Phar Mor Loss Amount $20 million. Initial Estimates $17 billion $2. 9 billion $2. 3 billion $1. 8 billion $1. 1 billion $1 billion $4 billion $3 billion $2. 9 billion $2 billion $2 billion $1. billion $1. 7 billion $1. 6 billion $1. 5 billion $1. 5 billion $1. 5 billion $1. 4 billion $1. 3 billion $1. 2 billion $1. 1 billion Date 2001 1991 1996 19901991 1992 19831995 1995 1998 1984 19851998 1994 1999 19911993 1980s1990s 1994 19861990 1994 19891993 1994 19981993 1996 1992 Description Terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center. Over 2000 lives lost. Countless businesses impacted. Regulators seized about 75 percent of The Bank of Credit and Commerce International’s $17 billion in assets in a major fraud. Sumitomo Corporation incurred huge losses through excessive trading of copper. The manager of the Imasato branch forged 19 deposit certificates, which were used to raise money for stock deals. Former employees plead guilty to conspiring to arrange $5 billion in unauthorized loans to Iraq. Loss due to unauthorized trading by an employee. This catastrophic loss has become a benchmark for operational risk. Losses due to lack of dual control and checks and balances. Huge market losses due to inadequate model management and inadequate controls at Long Term Capital Management. Pennzoil sued Texaco alleging that Texaco â€Å"wrongfully interfered† in its merger deal with Getty. Largest and longest-running accounting fraud in history. Former executives conspired to inflate earnings. The company agreed to pay settlements to 18 women who indicated breast implants made them ill. Insurance fraud case in which Martin Frankel allegedly stole as much as $2 billion from this foundation. Loss due to liquidation of oil supply contracts. Settlement of asbestos-related claims. Largest people risk class case in financial history. Largest investment loss ever registered by a municipality. Settlement of North Slope oil royalties dispute with Alaska. Disguised losses on FX forward contracts. Major oil refiner in Japan faced losses from forward currency contracts. Settled charges of securities fraud with state and federal regulators. Former employees filed a class action suit charging the company with fraud, breach of duty and negligence. Heavy losses suffered due to 3 strikes. A former president of the firm defrauded in an embezzlement scheme. Exhibit 2 Source: Hoffman; Managing Operational Risk 4 Increasing Business Risks With the increasing speed of change for all companies in this new era, senior management must deal with many complex risks that have substantial consequences for the organization. A few forces currently creating uncertainty are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Technology and the Internet Increased worldwide competition Free trade and investment worldwide Complex financial instruments Deregulation of key industries Changes in organizational structures from downsizing, reengineering, and mergers Increasing customer expectations for products and services More and larger mergers Collectively, these forces are stimulating considerable change and creating an increasing risk in the business environment. Regulatory The international regulators clearly intend to encourage banks to develop their own proprietary risk measurement models to assess regulatory, as well as economic, capital. The advantage for banks should be a substantial reduction in regulatory capital, and a more accurate allocation of capital vis-a-vis the actual risk confronted. In December 2001, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision submitted a paper â€Å"Sound Practices for the Management and Supervision of Operational Risk† for comment by the banking industry. In developing these sound practices the Committee recommended that banks have risk management systems in place to identify, measure, monitor and control operational risks. While the guidance in this paper is intended to apply to internationally active banks, plans are to eventually apply this guidance to those banks deemed significant on the basis of size, complexity, or systemic importance and to smaller, less complex banks. Regulators will eventually conduct regular independent evaluations of a bank’s strategies, policies, procedures and practices addressing operational risks. The paper indicates an independent evaluation of operational risk will incorporate a review of the following six bank areas:2 †¢ †¢ Process for assessing overall capital adequacy for operational risk in relation to its risk profile and its internal capital targets; Risk management process and overall control environment effectiveness with respect to operational risk exposures; 2 Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Sound Practices for the Management and Supervision of Operational Risk, (Basel, Switzerland: Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, 2001), p. 1. 5 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Systems for monitoring and reporting operational risk exposures and other data quality considerations; Procedures for timely and effective resolution of operational risk exposures and events; Process of internal controls, reviews and audit to ensure integrity of the overall risk management process; and Effectiveness of operational risk mitigation efforts. Market Factors Market factor s also play an important role in motivating organizations to consider ERM / ORM. Comprehensive shareholder value management and ERM / ORM are very much linked. Today’s financial markets place substantial premiums for consistently meeting earnings expectations. Not meeting expectations can result in severe and rapid decline in shareholder value. Research conducted by Tillinghast-Towers Perrin found that with all else being equal, organizations that achieved more consistent earnings than their peers were rewarded with materially higher market valuations. 3 Therefore, for corporate executives, managing key risks to earnings is an important element of shareholder value management. The traditional view of risk management has often focused on property and iability related issues or internal controls. However, â€Å"traditional† risk events such as lawsuits and natural disasters may have little or no impact on destroying shareholder value compared to other strategic and operational exposures—such as customer demand shortfall, competitive pressures, and cost overruns. One explanation for this is that traditional risk hazards ar e relatively well understood and managed today—not that they don’t matter. Managers now have the opportunity to apply tools and techniques for traditional risks to all risks that affect the strategic and financial objectives of the organization. For non-publicly traded organizations, ERM / ORM is valuable for many of the same reasons. Rather than from the perspective of shareholder value, ERM / ORM would provide managers with a comprehensive overview of other important items such as cash flow risks or stakeholder risks. Regardless of the organizational form, ERM / ORM can be an important management tool. Corporate Governance Defense against operational risk and losses flows from the highest level of the organization—the board of directors and executive management. The board, the management team that they hire, and the policies that they develop, all set the tone for a company. As guardians of shareholder value, boards of directors must be acutely attuned to market reaction to negative news. In fact, they can find themselves castigated by the public if the reaction is severe enough. As representatives of the shareholders, boards of directors are responsible for policy 3 Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, Enterprise Risk Management: Trends and Emerging Practices. (The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation, 2001), p. xxvi. 6 matters relative to corporate governance, including but not limited to setting the stage for the framework and foundation for enterprise risk management. Right now, operational risk management is a â€Å"hot topic† of discussion for regulators and in boardrooms across the US. In the wake of the 2001 releases from the Basel Risk Management Committee, banks now have further insight as to the regulatory position on the need for regulatory capital for operational risk. Meanwhile, shareholders are aware that there are means to identify, measure, manage, and mitigate operational risk that add up to billions of dollars every year and include frequent, low-level losses and also infrequent but catastrophic losses that have actually wiped out firms, such as Barings, and others. Regulators and shareholders have already signaled that they will hold directors and executives accountable for managing operational risk. Best-Practice Senior managers need to encourage the development of integrated systems that aggregate various market, credit, liquidity, operational and other risks generated by business units in a consistent framework across the institution. Consistency may become a necessary condition to regulatory approval of internal risk management models. An environment where each business unit calculates their risk separately with different rules will not provide a meaningful oversight of firm-wide risk. The increasing complexity of products, linkages between markets, and potential benefits offered by overall portfolio effects are pushing organizations toward standardizing and integrating risk management. Conclusion It seems clear that ERM / ORM is more than another management fad or academic theory. We believe that ERM / ORM will become part of the management process for organizations in the future. Had ERM / ORM processes been in place during the past two decades, a number of the operational risk debacles that took place may not have occurred or would have been of lesser magnitude. Companies are beginning to see the benefit of protecting themselves from all types of potential risk exposures. By identifying and mapping risk exposures throughout the organization, a company can concentrate on mitigating those exposures that can do the most damage. With an understanding of risks, their severity, and their frequency, a company can turn to solutions; be it retaining, transferring, sharing, or avoiding a particular risk. Our thoughts on what will happen in the ERM / ORM environment in the next 5 years are: In the next 5 years, it is likely that companies will no longer view risk management as a specialized and isolated activity: the management of insurance or foreign exchange risks, for instance. The new approach will 7 keep managers and employees at all levels sensitized to and concerned about risk management. Risk management will be coordinated with senior management oversight and everyone in the organization will view risk management as part of his or her job. The risk management process will be continuous and broadly focused. All business risks and opportunities will be covered. In the next 5 years, the use of bottom-up risk assessments will be a standard process used to identify risks throughout the organization. The self-assessment process will involve everyone in the company and require individual units to focus and report on the threats to their individual business objectives. Through the selfassessment process, the organization will be able to understand loss potential and risk control by business, by profit center and by product. The individual line manager will begin to understand the loss potential in his or her own processing system. In the next 5 years, the use of top-down scenario analysis will be another standard method used to identify risks throughout the organization. Top down scenario analysis will determine the risk potential for the entire firm, the entire business, organization, or portfolio of business. By its very nature, it is a high-level representation and cannot get into the bottom-up transaction-by-transaction risk analysis. For example, because Microsoft has a campus of more than 50 buildings in the Seattle area, earthquakes are a risk. 4 In the past, Microsoft looked at silos of risk. For example, they would have looked at property insurance when they considered the risks of an earthquake and thought about protecting equipment and buildings. However, using scenario analysis they are now taking a more holistic perspective in considering the risk of an earthquake. The Microsoft risk management group has analyzed this disaster scenario with its advisors and has attempted to quantify its real cost, taking into account how risks are correlated. In the process, the group identified risks in addition to property damage, such as the following: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 4 Director and officer liability if some people think management was not properly prepared. Key personnel risk Capital market risk because of the firm’s inability to trade. Worker compensation or employee benefit risk. Supplier risk for those in the area of the earthquake. Risk related to loss of market share because the business is interrupted. Michel Crouhy, Dan Galai, and Robert Mark, Making Enterprise Risk Management Payoff (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001), pp 132-133. 8 †¢ †¢ Research and development risks because those activities are interrupted and product delays occur. Product support risks because the company cannot respond to customer inquiries. By using scenario analysis, management has identified a number of risks that it might not have otherwise and Microsoft is now in a better position to manage these risks. The future ERM / ORM tools such as risk assessment and scenario analysis will assist companies in identifying and mitigating the majority of these risks. In the next 5 years, companies will be using internal and external loss databases to capture occurrences that may cause losses to the company and the actual losses themselves. This data will be used in quantitative models that will project the potential losses from the various risk exposures. This data will be used to manage the amount of risk a company may be willing to take. In the next 5 years, companies will allocate capital to individual business units based on operational risk. By linking operational risk capital charges to the sources of that risk, individuals with risk optimizing behavior will be rewarded and those without proper risk practices will be penalized. In the next 5 years, internal audit will become even more focused on how risks are managed and controlled throughout the company on a continuous basis. Internal audit will be responsible for reporting on integrity, accuracy, and reasonableness of the company's entire risk management process. In addition, Internal Audit will be involved in ensuring the appropriateness of the company's capital assessment and allocation processes. Furthermore, audit will influence continual improvement of risk management and controls through the sharing of best practices. In the next 5 years, management will be looking for individuals who are skilled in risk management. Professional designations such as the Bank Administration Institute's Certified Risk Professional (CRP) and the Information and Audit and Control Association's Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) will demonstrate proficiency in the risk management area and will be in demand. In the next 5 years, external auditors will be required to report on the efficiency and effectiveness of a company’s risk management program. These companies will be required to disclose the scope and nature of risk reporting and/or measurement systems in their annual reports. Overall, companies will be better positioned in the next 5 years to deal with the broad scope of enterprise-wide risks. By implementing the ERM / ORM process now, companies will begin to maximize their overall risk profile for competitive advantage. 9 Bibliography Barton, Thomas L. ; Shenkir, William G. ; Walker, Paul L. Making Enterprise Risk Management Pay Off. New Jersey: Financial Times / Prentice Hall, 2002. Basel II Mandates a Nest http://web2. infotrac. galegroup. co Egg for Banks† US Banker. (July 1, 2002) 48. July 2002. BITS. BITS Technology Risk Transfer Gap Analysis Tool. Washington, D. C. : BITS, 2002. Bock, Jerome T. , The Strategic Role of â€Å"Economic Capital† in Bank Management, Wimbledon, London: MidasKapiti International, 2000. Business Banking Board. RAROC and Operating Risk. Washington, D. C. : Corporate Executive B oard, 2001. Business Banking Board. Risk Management Structure. Washington, D. C. : Corporate Executive Board, 2001. Consultative Document Operational Risk. 2001. Bank for International Settlements and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. July 2002. http://www. bis. org/publ/bcbsa07. pdf Crouhy, Michel; Galai, Dan; Mark, Robert, Risk Management. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001. â€Å"Elements of a Successful IT Risk Management Program†. Gartner. (May 2002. ) 9. July 2002. http://www. gartner. com/gc/webletter/bindview/issue1/ggarticle1. html Ernst & Young, Integrated Risk Management Practices. Unpublished PowerPoint slides, Ernst & Young: 2000. Hively, Kevin; Merkley, Brian W. ; Miccolis, Jerry A. Enterprise Risk Management: Trends and Emerging Practices. Florida: The Institute of Internal Auditors Foundation, 2001. Hoffman, Douglas G. Managing Operational Risk. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , 2002. â€Å"In Brief: Ferguson Urges Investing in Risk Control†. American Banker. (March 5, 2002) 1. July 2002. http://0proquest. umi. com. opac. library. csupomona. edu James, Christopher, RAROC Based Capital Budgeting and Performance Evaluation: A Case Study of Bank Capital Allocation. Pennsylvania: The Wharton School, 1996. Jameson, Rob; Walsh, John, â€Å"The Leading Contenders,† Risk Magazine, (November 2000). 6. July 2002. http://www. financewise. om/public/edit/riskm/oprisk/opr-soft00. htm Insurance Industry – Participating companies: Allianz, AXA, Chubb, Mitsui Sumitomo, Munich Re, Swiss Re, Tokio Marine and Fire, Xl, Yasuda Fire and Marine and Zurich. Insurance of Operational Risk Under the New Basel Accord. Insurance Industry, 2001. Lam, James, â€Å"Top Ten Requirements for Operational Risk Management† Risk Management (November 2001) July 2002. http://0-proquest. umi. com. opac. library. csupomona. edu Marks, Norman, â€Å"The New Age of Internal Auditing† The Internal Auditor (December 2001) 5. July 2002. http://0-proquest. mi. com. opac. library. csupomona. ed McNamee, David; Selim, George M. Risk Management: Changing the Internal Auditor’s Paradigm. Florida: The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation, 1998. National Association of Financial Services Auditors. â€Å"Enterprise Risk Management,† National Association of Financial Services Auditors. Spring 2002. 12-13. netForensics is a Web site that discusses those regulations that govern information security in financial services, healthcare and government. http://www. netforensics. com/verticals. html 10 Ong, Michael; â€Å"Why bother? Risk Magazine, (November 2000). 6. July 2002. http://www. financewise. com/public/edit/riskm/oprisk/oprcommentary00. htm Practice Advisory 2100-3: Internal Audità ¢â‚¬â„¢s Role in the Risk Management Process. March 2001. The Institute of Internal Auditors. July 2002. http://www. theiia. org/ecm/guide-frame. cfm? doc_id=73 Santomero, Anthony M. , Commercial Bank Risk Management: an Analysis of the Process. Wharton School, 1997. Pennsylvania: The Sound Practices for the Management and Supervision of Operational Risk. 2002. Bank for International Settlements and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. July 2002. http://www. bis. org/publ/bcbs86. htm The Financial Services Roundtable, Guiding Principles in Risk Management for U. S. Commercial Banks. Washington D. C. : The Financial Services Roundtable, 1999. Verschoor, Curtis C. Audit Committee Briefing – 2001: Facilitating New Audit Committee Responsibilities. Florida: The Institute of Internal Auditors, 2001. Working Paper on the Regulatory Treatment of Operational Risk. 2001. Bank for International Settlements and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. July 2002. http://www. bis. org/publ/bcbs_wp8. pdf 11